Unaccompanied children look toward school after ordeal to reach Europe

Young unaccompanied asylum seekers get a break from the boredom of passing their time in hotels where they have been housed because their numbers now exceed the capacity of Belgian asylum centres.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, 21 August (UNHCR) – After traveling from Afghanistan inside a container where other children died, being apprehended by police on arrival in Belgium and spending a tedious summer sharing a shabby hotel room with other young asylum seekers, 15-year-old Faramaz* is anxiously awaiting the start of school.

This will be the first time in his life that Faramaz will attend school; he is ashamed that he cannot read or write like other children of his age. It will also replace the boredom of staying in the hotel, where many unaccompanied minors seeking asylum are now housed because other centres have overflowed.

The number of unaccompanied minors who filed for asylum in Belgium rose to 1483 last year, almost double the 2010 figure. Most are boys from Afghanistan, where family members, fearing for the safety or wellbeing of the child, often take on huge debts to arrange travel to Europe with smugglers or traffickers.

"I could hardly breathe and we had to crouch because there was not enough space to stand up," said Faramaz. "I was smuggled from Afghanistan into Europe in a truck together with 17 other youngsters. It was horrible. Three of us died in this container."

Faramaz's story is not an isolated one. According to UNHCR's latest Global Trends 2011 report, globally some 17,700 asylum applications last year were lodged by unaccompanied children in 69 countries. These numbers do not paint the full picture since it can be assumed many more unaccompanied children live in Europe.

According to the latest UNHCR figures, in Europe, Belgium, Sweden, Germany and the UK received the largest numbers of asylum claims by unaccompanied children. Faramaz is one of the more than 100 children for whom there are not enough places in asylum centres in Belgium suitable for unaccompanied children. Efforts are made to remedy this but in the meantime the children stay in hotels.

"We appreciate the efforts Belgium makes in providing for specially trained staff and accommodation for child asylum seekers and we really hope that solutions are quickly found to avoid putting some children in hotels until a place in a centre frees up," said Paolo Artini, UNHCR Deputy Regional Representative for Western Europe.

Faramaz and his friend Mehran* – another unaccompanied youngster from Afghanistan – both arrived in Belgium on their own. They did not know anything about Belgium. After a long and dangerous trip, smugglers dropped them off and both were arrested almost immediately.

The boys laugh sheepishly when asked about their asylum claim. They do not seem to have understood the information they were given or what will happen to them next. "I hear we will have to undergo an age test", Faramaz laughs nervously.

In the absence of parents, children need legal guardians. However, in Belgium there is a shortage of guardians and especially the youngsters in hotels seem to have difficulties getting one. Staying in a hotel is no holiday for the unaccompanied children. They are run-down places where several youngsters share a room.

"There's nothing to do for the children. Boredom is a big problem," says Klaartje Ory, who is with the Flemish Community Commission, the local representative of the Flemish authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region. Klaartje and her colleagues take the unaccompanied from their Brussels hotels about three times a week for an activity.

Since April 2012 the asylum centre of Overpelt has been offering additional places for unaccompanied children between the ages of 8 and 14 years. Mirzal*, a 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan had been moved from a hotel to the centre only days ago.

"Life has become better for me," he said in a barely audible voice. "At the hotel we slept with four other boys in one hotel room. We did not have enough money to buy decent food so we ate beans every day."

Mirzal's father was killed by the Taleban and his mother, younger brother and sister still live in Afghanistan. "I have not been able to speak to them ever since I left Afghanistan – which is now three months ago. I had one phone number for them but the smugglers took it away from me." The death of his father left Mirzal as the eldest male of his family and at the age of 13 he is responsible for them.

"When they arrive, the children often have nightmares, have trouble sleeping or they want to keep wearing the clothes in which they arrived for days on end. For some of them it is literally the only thing they have got left," says Arlette Meuwis, manager of the centre in Overpelt.

Iraqi Children Go To School in Syria

UNHCR aims to help 25,000 refugee children go to school in Syria by providing financial assistance to families and donating school uniforms and supplies.

There are some 1.4 million Iraqi refugees living in Syria, most having fled the extreme sectarian violence sparked by the bombing of the Golden Mosque of Samarra in 2006.

Many Iraqi refugee parents regard education as a top priority, equal in importance to security. While in Iraq, violence and displacement made it difficult for refugee children to attend school with any regularity and many fell behind. Although education is free in Syria, fees associated with uniforms, supplies and transportation make attending school impossible. And far too many refugee children have to work to support their families instead of attending school.

To encourage poor Iraqi families to register their children, UNHCR plans to provide financial assistance to at least 25,000 school-age children, and to provide uniforms, books and school supplies to Iraqi refugees registered with UNHCR. The agency will also advise refugees of their right to send their children to school, and will support NGO programmes for working children.

UNHCR's ninemillion campaign aims to provide a healthy and safe learning environment for nine million refugee children by 2010.

Iraqi Children Go To School in Syria

The Children of Harmanli Face a Bleak Winter

Since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011, more than 2 million people have fled the violence. Many have made their way to European Union countries, finding sanctuary in places like Germany and Sweden. Others are venturing into Europe by way of Bulgaria, where the authorities struggle to accommodate and care for some 8,000 asylum-seekers, many of whom are Syrian. More than 1,000 of these desperate people, including 300 children, languish in an overcrowded camp in the town of Harmanli, 50 kilometres from the Turkish-Bulgarian border. These people crossed the border in the hope of starting a new life in Europe. Some have travelled in family groups; many have come alone with dreams of reuniting in Europe with loved ones; and still others are unaccompanied children. The sheer number of people in Harmanli is taxing the ability of officials to process them, let alone shelter and feed them. This photo essay explores the daily challenges of life in Harmanli.

The Children of Harmanli Face a Bleak Winter

Erbil's Children: Syrian Refugees in Urban Iraq

Some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees are children who have sought shelter in urban areas with their families. Unlike those in camps, refugees living in towns and cities in countries like Iraq, Turkey and Jordan often find it difficult to gain access to aid and protection. In a refugee camp, it is easier for humanitarian aid organizations such as UNHCR to provide shelter and regular assistance, including food, health care and education. Finding refugees in urban areas, let alone helping them, is no easy task.

In Iraq, about 100,000 of the 143,000 Syrian refugees are believed to be living in urban areas - some 40 per cent of them are children aged under 18 years. The following photographs, taken in the northern city of Erbil by Brian Sokol, give a glimpse into the lives of some of these young urban refugees. They show the harshness of daily life as well as the resilience, adaptability and spirit of young people whose lives have been overturned in the past two years.

Life is difficult in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The cost of living is high and it is difficult to find work. The refugees must also spend a large part of their limited resources on rent. UNHCR and its partners, including the Kurdish Regional Government, struggle to help the needy.

Erbil's Children: Syrian Refugees in Urban Iraq

Why is light and energy crucial for refugees?

Every year, millions of children and their families become refugees. Forced to flee their homes because of war, conflict or natural disaster. They find safety and shelter in the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) camps like this one in Azraq refugee camp in Jordan. The IKEA Foundation is working with UNHCR to improve access to lighting and energy for refugees in these camps.

Uganda: A Father's Troubles

Forty-five-year-old Gabriel fled South Sudan with his wife and children to find safety in the UN compound in Bor. But, in April 2014, his wife was killed when an armed mob forced their way in, and now he is a single father to five children, seeking a better life in Uganda.

Ethiopia: Far From Home

Nyabuka Lam arrived in Pagak, Ethiopia in September after escaping armed men who shot her three children and husband back in her home country, South Sudan. After walking for 15 days to reach the safety of Pagak, she is now finally on a path to recovery.